


Pumpkin Madness

by Darkhymns



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Accidental Horror?, Festivals, Gen, Halloween Costumes, Humor, Pumpkins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27375217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns
Summary: There's a so-called Pumpkin Festival happening in Iselia! Having been invited to a costume shindig, Zelos (in his jester outfit) and Sheena (in a normal outfit) decide to go...but some traditions of the once-declining world are just too weird.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Pumpkin Madness

**Author's Note:**

> Late Halloween fic that makes very little sense. Inspired by this [cute fanart! ](https://twitter.com/GuriBoc/status/1322407112224354305?s=19) I honestly meant to make the fic way more simple then this I'm sorry.

Zelos wouldn't even let Sheena have her thoughts to herself for more than five minutes.

"Hey, what’s with that face? It’s like you haven't been to a costume party before!" And of course, the moment he turned his head to Sheena, she had to hear that dreaded  _ jingle. _ It wasn't just from his every damn step as they walked to Iselia's gates, but even when on their Rheiards, the sound of his costume was carried throughout the night sky. All the way from Meltokio. 

She had been so tempted to just fall off her ride. Just a little bit.

Still, it was better than...most other costumes she had feared he would wear. The red-and-white of his outfit did suit him surprisingly well, including the overly big jester’s hood over his head, enough to fit over his long hair. But that was also just being kind. The costume was eccentric, splashed over with such bright colors, it would make one’s eyes burn. Luckily, the sun had long set so she didn’t have to see Zelos in all of his motley glory.

“Don’t make me regret chaperoning you,” she muttered. The dirt road was uneven as they walked, but she figured it would simply be easier to land away from the town nearer the forest, as many people from Sylvarant weren’t aware of what Rheairds even were just yet. The problem though, it meant more time with Zelos...alone…  _ Ugh. _

“And stop doing that dance! It’s weird!”

“What’s that?” Zelos said, prancing along in his little red jester shoes, always just so very close to being in Sheena’s path before dodging out of her way (and her fist) in a flurry of off-tune ringing from his bells that hung from every conceivable part of his costume. “Can’t help it that you can’t resist my irresistible charm! Haha!” Zelos winked at her. “Little humor from Love’s Fool to you~”

“That’s not much of a joke when you've already said it fifty times and  _ yes _ I counted.”

Zelos scoffed, flaunting his fake huffiness as if Sheena hadn’t already seen this enough from him. “Well! I’m sure my best bud and little miss angel will appreciate the work put into this then! Hours of stitching and embroidery went into this bad boy!”

“You mean Sebastian made it for you-”

“And I bet that’s why they invited the Great Zelos after all! My dedication to the arts is to be admired.”

“They invited everyone!” Sheena sighed. It wouldn’t do to get irritated now, not after months of not seeing her friends. 

Honestly, the only reason she had agreed to come along was due to the letter she received. It had been written from an excited Lloyd (and he must have been, with all those spelling errors on the parchment) which did get her interested in going. “I don’t know much about Iselia’s Pumpkin Festival, but I’m sure that whatever you’re wearing has nothing to do with it.” It was a bit strange to her though, that not even Mizuho’s vast-information network could get much from this little town’s tradition…

“They said to bring costumes! So I did! Not like whatever-” he gestured vaguely at Sheena, and she made sure to know just where  _ exactly _ he was staring at and correct him on his mistakes, “-you’re wearing. So bland.”

“I-I've already explained my costume!" Of course she had to feel self-conscious, even when she wore the wine-colored gi that was her costume. Some Mizuho people had already said it seemed old-fashioned… "It’s traditional garb worn by one of our legendary chiefs, Suzu-”

“Yeah, yeah. I mean, it doesn’t even show you off, like, even a little bit!” Zelos shook his head, the tips of his jester hat continually jingling and jangling. “Such a waste.”

Eyes twitching, Sheena casually reached for a hilt that was strapped to her back. “I also have this legendary ninjato from her. I should probably test how sharp it is still.”

“So cruel to me!” Zelos whined, walking with a little less joy in his step now, the bells jingling in a forlorn tone. “Even on this day, you have to threaten me…”

"Hey, guys!" The voice was high-pitched, with just the right amount of impatience, probably due to seeing how slow they walked. 

_ Ah, that's Genis, _ Sheena thought immediately before finally looking ahead. The gates of Iselia was already just before them, the watchtower to the left already decorated with autumn drapings and lit up by an array of torches. Genis was near it, the light bouncing off his silver hair.

...But what exactly was he wearing?  _ Is that the top of a pumpkin on his head? _ She saw the stem of the cut pumpkin top curl just above. He wore it like a little hat… Did he know it was there?

"It's about time you two got here, the festival's already started!" Genis hurriedly waved them over, the town decorated with...a lot of pumpkins.  _ A lot _ of pumpkins. She saw giant versions of the orange fruit stacked atop one another near the doorways of nearby homes, some perched on the windowsills as well as rooftops, which Sheena didn't totally understand why. And some of the pumpkins looked gigantic too! She could see some in the distance, near some fields, probably still in the middle of growing. Was this Iselia's main source of crops?

"Of course, you can't start this party without me!" Zelos stated with raucous laughter - just so he could be that  _ exact _ level of obnoxiousness. "Curious to see how this backwater place does it's thing."

"That's nice." Genis frowned, looking over at both Zelos and Sheena with... disapproval? "What are you guys wearing anyway?"

Sheena was not liking this pattern of people making her question her costume choices, and so felt she also needed to defend said choices! "Lloyd's letter told us to dress up! So we did!"

"Of course." Genis shook his head. "Typical of Lloyd to leave out the details." 

Sheena was quiet, looking back at the weird pumpkin top Genis still wore on his head. It stayed perfectly on him, sticking to his hair, even as he moved.  _ He can't mean.. _

"Oh, there he is now actually. Hey, Lloyd!"

And what Sheena had thought to be a gigantic pumpkin out in the distance...suddenly turned, showing off a familiar smile. His head stuck out right from the top of that pumpkin, while arms were held out wide through the makeshift holes on the sides. "Awesome! You made it!"

Lloyd, inside a giant pumpkin costume, waved at them, his body completely engulfed by it. He also wore what Genis did; the top of a pumpkin on his head, complete with its tough, green stem twirling out from it.

_ Oh, now this is way too weird, _ Sheena thought.

She could hear Zelos next to her jingle nervously. "What."

"Zelos! Sheena!" Another voice that broke through the air. The shifting of another pumpkin that was next to Lloyd, also turning… 

Also revealing… 

And there she was, the happy Chosen stuck inside a pumpkin, with her head, arms and legs sticking out from it - just like Lloyd. She smiled just as excitedly. 

Sheena wondered if maybe she was having a sudden fever right now.

Lumbering out from the vines and roots she looked to have been surrounded in earlier, the Colette-pumpkin moved forward to join Lloyd in greeting their friends. She still smiled so adorably, even as she struggled to even walk. “I’m so happy you could join- Wha!”

“Colette, hold onto my hand!” Lloyd reached out as much as he could to grab Colette by the wrist, pulling her up so she could precariously walk around in her roly-poly pumpkin costume right by his side. “Careful of this little hill here too…”

“Hehe, right!” Colette nodded, and probably would have outright tripped again if Lloyd hadn’t still held onto her. 

“Please tell me what is going on,” Sheena begged, now looking at the array of pumpkins all around them with caution and a little fear.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Lloyd and Colette wobbled right up to them. It looked awful having to walk like this, draped in heavy things that didn’t let them move naturally, but they did it with ecstatic smiles on their faces. Somehow that made it even worse?

She could feel Zelos just slightly retreat behind her, as if he himself wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking at. She couldn’t really blame him. Now that they were closer, she could see the designs on their front; carved in exactly like they would for a jack o’ lantern, complete with triangle-shaped eyes and a gap-toothed smile. 

“Oh, those are cool costumes!” Lloyd said, acting completely nonchalant despite his right elbow hanging from his side awkwardly, his left hand still clinging to Colette’s. “Hm, but they don’t really fit…”

“We still have plenty of spares.” Colette suggested. "And they should be able to fit you!"

“Okay, hold on a second!” Zelos shouted so proudly, despite still standing behind Sheena as he did so. “Bud! Angel! Why are you… dressed like that?!”

Lloyd raised his eyebrow, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing all day! “It’s the Pumpkin Festival! Why wouldn’t we dress like this?”

Another forlorn little jingle, the bells sounding so melancholy. “I thought this was a costume party…”

“It is!” Lloyd grinned widely, while Colette eternally balanced herself precariously on her toes to not upend her costume to the side. “As pumpkins! Sorry, did I forget to mention that in the letter?” Lloyd reached to scratch at his cheek, though not too easily. His costume didn’t leave room for much movement of the limbs. “But don’t worry. We definitely have a set for you guys!”

“ _ And _ I grew them myself!” Sheena flinched, having nearly forgotten about Genis. He crossed his arms in pride, all while still wearing his carved pumpkin hat. “The only problem is they’ve all been too big for me.”

“Wait… you’re wearing real pumpkins?!” Sheena stared once more at Lloyd and Colette’s ensemble. They were not made of fabric and stitching like she had thought. She saw the moonlight shine off the pumpkins’ ridged surface. She thought it just looked realistic! “How can you even… Aren’t they heavy?” Also, kind of gross?

“A little, yeah,” Lloyd said with a shrug. Or he tried to shrug, but well, he was inside of a giant pumpkin and carrying it around his shoulders basically. “But it’s fun! Everyone gets to grow and carve their own and then we wear it for a contest!” Lloyd looked like he tried to put his hands on his hips, but his hips weren’t exactly in reach, so he just barely patted his pumpkin-covered sides. “Genis grew these for us though!”

“And you better win after all the work I’ve put through! These pumpkins are perfect. I almost didn’t want to let you carve them.” Genis said this with such worry, Sheena wondered just how much pumpkin history she was missing… and just how much she would rather not know about any of it.

“Don’t worry, Genis!” Colette reassured her friend. “Lloyd’s the best pumpkin-carver in Iselia! I think we can win this- Ah!”

“Watch out, Colette!”

Colette flailed her arms, Lloyd reaching out again to keep her steady. But it was more dangerous this time, for Lloyd nearly fell with her, his balance interrupted as he tried to steady both him and Colette’s gigantic pumpkin outfits, their legs wobbling. Sheena watched in abject horror, but couldn’t find it in herself to help.

“W-whoa! That was a close one…” Lloyd sighed, glad that he and Colette had just narrowly avoided pumpkin disaster. “You know, maybe you should use your wings to keep yourself steady.”

“I’m not sure if that’s fair since everyone is wearing one too. I’ll just be more careful, I promise!”

Someone nudged at Sheena's ribs. She was surprised to find that it was Zelos, surprised even more that he hadn’t tried to do anything else  _ at all _ the entire time they were here. “Hey, Sheena, I just remembered I got somewhere to be… Think you can cover for me?”

“Can I- what?!” He was trying to leave?! She rounded on him in fury, the shape of dancing pumpkins in her vision. “You’re not going anywhere!”

“Zelos is leaving?” Lloyd asked. He was still helping Colette balance in her costume, all while he was still wobbling about himself. “But we were going to play games! Like pumpkin bobbing, and pumpkin musical chairs…”

There was the erratic sound of jingling coming from Zelos - from him shaking his ludicrously big jester hat. “This- this isn’t my style, bud…”  _ Jingle, jingle. _ “Not if every hunny here is gonna be dressed like that…”

“Yet you came all the way out here. You could at least try to enjoy our festivities.”

Both Zelos and Sheena turned, finding Raine walking up to them from the direction of her home. A cool silver beauty, decked out in pumpkin gear, though she carried it with a bit more grace than her students could. “I even made us all some pumpkin soup - and it’s a brand new recipe. I had made enough for everyone.”

Well, this was certainly making Sheena already wanting to leave herself. But at least she wasn’t alone in the thought. She could see varying degrees of disgust on everyone’s faces - except for Colette who was still trying to stand upright in her costume. 

"Sis, I said I was cooking tonight…"

Raine waved away her younger brother's concerns. "I promise you, I've improved this soup considerably. After all, since pumpkin spice is such a popular drink, I thought I would use something similar for my recipe."

Genis frowned. "That is an actual thing, but I can't say I still trust you to make it right."

"Yeah, I'm out," Zelos said, already walking backwards, no longer moving in a dance-like step as he had done when he first entered Iselia. "This is  _ way _ too backwater for me."

"That's rude!" Lloyd said, with all the offense of a young boy who loved his pumpkin traditions! "We invited you because we thought you'd find this fun!"

"It is fun," said another small voice. Sheena, whipped around to find Presea, also decked out in her own pumpkin ensemble, except... "You can carve the pumpkins yourselves into any design you want."

The paw pad carving on her pumpkin, in perfect diameters to emulate the essential 'toe bean' look, did appear rather cute.

"Yes, that is correct. We should be grateful to Lloyd to inviting us to what is such a vital celebration to this town." Regal was no surprise at all, of course within his own pumpkin that he could barely seem to fit in. With the way his muscled arms hung out from the sides, it looked as if he had punched right through the tough exterior going from the holes' jagged edges. At least he wasn't wearing handcuffs.

Lloyd looked to Regal and Presea with pride. "Thanks! You guys got really into this, too!"

Presea nodded - slightly, at least. Her chin practically disappeared within the pumpkin's depths. Only her pink hair was free from it. "Yes, Lloyd. We only wish for our friends to join us."

From the carved faces (and paw prints) of everyone’s pumpkins, they glowed, like ominous lights shining from the darkness, as if a candle burned from within. 

Sheena blinked.  _ Uh. _

Zelos was less tactful. "What the hell?!"

“Join us, friends,” spoke Regal, moving towards them, like a hulking pumpkin monster with long (and well-toned) legs.

“Join us,” repeated Presea, bobbing up and down so she could lift up her own pumpkin weight.

"Yes, preferably before I use up my mana. It's not easy trying to maintain this illusion for the contest!" Raine, now with staff out, was holding it aloft, the same light shining from it that illuminated the pumpkin costumes of everyone. 

Sheena  _ had _ to question it though. "Are you using Photon or-"

“Yeah! Join us! See, everyone likes it!” Lloyd, in his excitement, had let go of Colette’s hand then, pumping both fists in the air. The light of his pumpkin peeked out the opening just beneath his chin, casting his face in eerie shadows. “You should probably wear your costumes soon too! They kinda get rotten pretty fast-”

“Waaa!” Colette finally fell - and then rolled away, her pumpkin exterior taking her down a slope that led her further into town. “Lloyd…!”

"Colette!" Lloyd chased after her, hobbling about while his insides glowed with an auburn light. "Don't worry, I'll - whoa!" And then soon he was tumbling and rolling down the same hill, following Colette, their voices fading with the distance…

Sheena wondered if she should help? No one else seemed to? "Uh, guys-"

"It's okay, they do this every year." Genis brushed that aside, then grinned wide as he rolled up a giant pumpkin towards her. "But I just found the perfect sizes for you!"

_ Oh no.  _ "That's okay, I-"

"I can help you carve it." Presea held out a knife that she just suddenly had. Why did that seem so threatening suddenly?

"But! I did just remember. Me and Zelos have to get back to Meltokio for diplomatic stuff. Sorry!" She turned around. "We can just-"

And Zelos was gone - gone except for the fast jingling she heard in the distance.

_ What?! _

"If he had to go, he could have simply said so." Raine shook her head, all while Lloyd and Colette called out to each other in the background every so often, ( _ "Lloyd!" "Colette!" _ ) still rolling along the town's roads. 

Genis forever kept pushing along one of the pumpkins towards her, slowly but steadily. The glow of his own pumpkin lit up his face, shadowed his eyes. "Join us, Sheena…"

Sheena stood still in her panic, but she managed to do one thing before succumbing to the pumpkin madness, looking up the sky in violent fury.

“Zelos!  _ Zelos! You traitor!” _

But she heard no cry back. Just the jingling, the jangling of those stupid bells on his costume, as he dashed away into the night.


End file.
